1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for prevention of ankle sprain injuries. The device comprises a sensing part configured to sense data of an ankle motion; an analyzing part configured to analyze the data to judge whether the motion is a sprain motion; and a stimulating part configured to stimulate one or more lower limb muscles against the motion in view of the result of the analyzing component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Injuries to muscles, ligaments and bones in lower limbs, such as the lateral ankle ligaments, are very common in sports, which may cause pain and immobility of the legs or ankle joints. For example, injuries to ankle ligaments in the long term may lead to the development of ankle instability, which does not yet have an adequate treatment and rehabilitation protocol.
Most ankle sprain injuries are caused by a supination or inversion mechanism. It is known that the peroneal muscles are at the lateral aspect of the lower leg, which function to pronate or evert the ankle joint. Therefore, the peroneal muscles serve as the intrinsic defensive mechanism against ankle sprain injuries to resist excessive ankle supination or inversion. However, one of the etiologies of ankle sprain injuries is the slow reaction time of the peroneal muscles. Thus, in most of the injuries, the peroneal muscles are unable to catch up and react to provide the intrinsic protection.
Currently, myoelectric stimulation has been employed in various medical devices, such as “Functional Electric Stimulus” (FES), to initiate passive exercise to injured muscles for rehabilitation training. Moreover, similar technologies are employed in passive massage devices. In addition, similar techniques have been employed to assist walking in hemiplegic patients who cannot deliver neuromuscular activation to the leg muscle to walk. In all of these devices, electrical signals are delivered to the selected muscle group through pairs of electrodes, which replace the human intrinsic neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The electrical signals can trigger some biochemical changes in muscle cells, leading to contraction of the muscle and thus joint flexion or extension. However, these devices cannot provide quick reaction to prevent acute ankle sprain injuries.